Woman charged with stealing nearly $12,000 from senior citizen

January 30, 2013|Aebra Coe- (231) 439-9397- acoe@petoskeynews.com

BOYNE CITY -- Tammy Jo Remsberg, 52, of Boyne City was arraigned Jan. 22 in Charlevoix County's 90th District Court on charges of larceny by conversion of between $1,000 and $20,000, a felony, and charitable solicitation, a misdemeanor.

The alleged victim in the case, also from Boyne City, had entrusted Remsberg to help her with housework and finances, according to court records.

Sgt. Gerald Briolat, of the Michigan State Police, investigated the case rather than local detectives because Remsberg is the wife of a Boyne City police officer.

In addition to the charges in regards to larceny from the alleged victim, during an investigation against her, Remsberg admitted to stealing $100 that was given to her with instructions it be donated toward funeral expenses for a local couple whose daughter had recently passed away.

According to the court affidavit, Briolat began his eight month investigation in March, 2012 and conducted interviews with the complainant, suspect, suspect's spouse and also reviewed bank records.

The alleged victim reported to the officer that "her household bills had not been paid on time by Remsberg and that it appeared that Remsberg had taken money from her and used it for herself," reads the sworn testimony of Briolat in the affidavit.

The officer's investigation revealed, he said, that Remsberg had written "numerous checks" to herself and for cash, from the alleged victim's account that "were not authorized, or were not for a legitimate purpose benefitting (alleged victim).

The report goes on to say that the expenditures from the account "decimated" the alleged victim's finances to the point where she received bank charges totaling $1,800, damaged her credit and resulted in creditors pursuing collection action against her.

The sergeant testified his investigation revealed that Remsberg also used a charge account at Boyne Storage and Fuel Center opened in the alleged victim's name. As of Feb. 1, 2011, the account had $2,688 charged on it under Remsberg's name, according to the affidavit.

Remsberg admitted that she had used the gasoline charge account at Boyne Storage for her personal use and that she spent $3,000 out of the alleged victim's bank account for her own use, according to court records.

Remsberg also admitted that she had been party to an agreement where she received money borrowed against the alleged victim's car and was supposed to repay the loan, according to the affidavit.

Remsberg's son was then allowed to use the alleged victim's vehicle, it says, and was to pay $180 a month for its use.

Although Remsberg paid off the loan taken out on the vehicle, it says, only two payments of $180 were made during the year that Remsberg's son used the vehicle and when it was returned, "It was nearly inoperable and had significantly dropped in value."

During an interview with Briolat, Remsberg agreed that she owed the alleged victim an amount totalling $12,000 as a result of her actions.

"I am responsible for grave overuse of a bank account ... I take responsibility for paying her back so that she can get her finances back in order. The amount of $12,000 to her, I hope, would put things back in some type of order," said Remsberg in a written statement last August.

His investigation also revealed, testified the officer, that on a separate occasion in 2011, Remsberg was given $100 from a community member to donate toward funeral expenses to a local couple whose daughter had recently passed away. The report says that the person who donated the money never received a thank you note and asked Remsberg on several occasions whether the parents of woman who had passed away received it.

Remsberg admitted to Briolat, he said, to taking the $100 given to her to donate to the couple for their daughter's funeral.

The charge of larceny by conversion, a felony, brought against Remsberg is punishable by five years in prison and/or $10,000 in fines or three times the value of the property stolen, whichever is greater.

The charitable solicitation charge is a misdemeanor and can mean six months in jail and/or $5,000 in fines.